Dell Vostro 3300 series

Posted 15 April 2010 - 06:10 PM

formerglory

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Any thoughts on this new notebook that Dell came out with? With the release of the updated MacBook Pros I'm a bit dissapointed with the lack of a Core iX processor on the 13" models. This Dell has pretty nice specs, but I want OS X. Anyone have any experience with this model?

Posted 04 May 2010 - 06:24 AM

Pavel A.

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Any thoughts on this new notebook that Dell came out with? With the release of the updated MacBook Pros I'm a bit dissapointed with the lack of a Core iX processor on the 13" models. This Dell has pretty nice specs, but I want OS X. Anyone have any experience with this model?

I actually came across this version as well... As understand, i5-520m that is used by Dell is the same CPU that is used by MacBook Pro... Also, MacBook Pro is using Nvidia 320m and 330m, and Dell Vosto has Nvidia 310m, which shouldn't be that different...

I guess chances are big that Vostro 3xxx series will run Snow Leopard...however, confirmation is needed...

Posted 10 May 2010 - 08:11 PM

Guitate

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HI, any lucky here with my vostro 3700, yep... I'm a noob but, i tried a lot to get snow leopard.... so I installed Leopard with Iatkos v7 with some problems ( vidcard, low mhz in cpu and memory), after a few days.... I quite

Posted 31 May 2010 - 09:09 PM

Pavel A.

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I had HP tx2 and I sold it last month. I didn't like AMD processor. I wasn't very Mac friendly.
However, tm2 is using intel. But I still would choose Vostro over tm2 because it uses i3/i5/i7 chips, which is better for battery, speed, and is more Snow Leopard friendly then Core2Duo.

I'm interested only in installing a retail version of OsX.

Okey, so far, I don't need a laptop, but when the time will come, I, probably will choose Voostro 3300 or 3400 or 3500.

Posted 07 June 2010 - 11:24 AM

I've been doing a bit of research around a replacement for my Core 2 Duo MacBook and the Vostro 3300 really seems to me to be the best replacement candidate.

Specifically, the compatible model for us would be the one with the Nvidia 310M card and i5 Processor.

I am linking here the different threads so that in one place you can see the progress so far.

Here is the link to the insanelymac 3700 thread. The 3700 basically has the same type of config. and features but has the 330M Nvidia card.

The best install method seems to be the #####/##### combination for a retail 10.6.3 install.

Not many people are working on the specific model yet as far as I can see, but it looks like at the moment LAN, BT, Graphics with full QE/CI and audio are working. Wifi will more than likely be a swap out method if the Broadcom kext for the existing card cannot be modded.

No-one has yet really made many DSDT modifications, but these will no doubt be the key to issues such as sleep and decent power management, but even without them the ordinary kext workarounds seem to give something that is more than adequate for OSX.

There are other good reasons though for trying this board: The esata/usb combo functions; expresscard, card reader all give good prospects for a great MacBook pro competitor and if the board actually comes equipped with a connector for the "missing" WWAN module then this would be a really nice bonus add-on. As long as they have actually soldered the connections to the board (and ideally also provided the antennae) then suddenly this notebook becomes a fantastic ultra-portable........can someone who has a 3000 series laptop please lift their keyboard and let me know if the WWAN connector is present and if the antenna are there: it's easy to do just look at this page.

A good reason for choosing this board over HP and Sony competitors is that Dell tend not to use hardware whitlelists (HP seem to cripple hardware swapping so that wifi cards etc. cannot be exchanged) or use too many proprietary arrangements for graphics and hardware (Sony are terrible for that!) and they also make getting inside the case incredibly easy......for instance if you want to ditch the dell DVD re-writer and install an extra hard drive it is easy-peasy.

I have not bought the 3300 yet, but am very close to taking the plunge. Just need to put a few of my own things on eBay first!

Posted 30 August 2010 - 02:02 PM

John Broomfield

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I bought myself a Vostro 3300, and have been fiddling around trying to get it to boot up. (absolute noob wrt OSx).
I took the KB off and it has a WWAN slot, along with an apparent connector for antenna. Haven't disassembled to see if it was actually connected or not, but it would appear functional.
After trying a number of Empire-EFI combo's and boot DVD's, I managed to install OS-X on it, however it seems to have problems recognizing the touchpad, and also had problems with the USB ports (resulting in a complicated install through just keyboard usage). I imagine I'm missing kext's or something.
My ultimate goal is to make it dual/triple boot, but I'm confused with how many partititions need to be created, and how:
-Windows by default creates a 200MB primary partition in addition to the one it installs on (will ONLY install on MBR, even if it sees GPT/GUID).
-OS-X will ONLY install on GPT/GUID (even though it can see MBR).
I read about needing an EFI partition to boot.
So, questions:
-Is the 200MB partition that W7 creates there for anything, and is it the same as the EFI partition? Is it needed, can that 200MB be used as the EFI partition?
-Is the EFI partition the same as the partition where you'd install Chamaleon?
-How do I go about creating a hybrid MBR/GPT drive? (Appears as the best way to go).

Finally, where would I find kexts specific to the vostro 3300? (Happy to mount, dismount, play with USB, reformat again and again the HD, etc... happily experimenting here).

Posted 14 September 2012 - 01:24 AM

chaseincats

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I bought myself a Vostro 3300, and have been fiddling around trying to get it to boot up. (absolute noob wrt OSx).I took the KB off and it has a WWAN slot, along with an apparent connector for antenna. Haven't disassembled to see if it was actually connected or not, but it would appear functional.After trying a number of Empire-EFI combo's and boot DVD's, I managed to install OS-X on it, however it seems to have problems recognizing the touchpad, and also had problems with the USB ports (resulting in a complicated install through just keyboard usage). I imagine I'm missing kext's or something.My ultimate goal is to make it dual/triple boot, but I'm confused with how many partititions need to be created, and how:-Windows by default creates a 200MB primary partition in addition to the one it installs on (will ONLY install on MBR, even if it sees GPT/GUID).-OS-X will ONLY install on GPT/GUID (even though it can see MBR).I read about needing an EFI partition to boot.So, questions:-Is the 200MB partition that W7 creates there for anything, and is it the same as the EFI partition? Is it needed, can that 200MB be used as the EFI partition?-Is the EFI partition the same as the partition where you'd install Chamaleon?-How do I go about creating a hybrid MBR/GPT drive? (Appears as the best way to go).

Finally, where would I find kexts specific to the vostro 3300? (Happy to mount, dismount, play with USB, reformat again and again the HD, etc... happily experimenting here).

Many thanks in advance.

hey i just got a 3300 and tried a bunch of disks but none of them would even boot the disk, any ideas as to why? also were you ever able to figure out the problems mentioned above

i know its 2 years since this post but its the most compatible one i could find